Chapter 106: Four Chattering Girls

"Anaka has a sharp tongue, but deep down, she means no harm," Amytan said with a smile. She glanced at Obia, who had been silent all along, and explained to Luke, "Obia rarely speaks. Usually, the only two sentences she says are: 'The General is right,' and 'The General is absolutely correct.'"

[Nods]

From Obia.

Amytan continued, "No matter where we are, no matter what form we take, and no matter what the General becomes, you will always be the person the four of us admire the most! Whether across the ends of the earth or in any dimension, we will forever follow in the General’s footsteps!"

"Wherever the General goes, we go!" Rosanna turned her head to say.

Anaka raised her small hand and declared, "Even if the General dies, we will follow!"

[Nods]

From Obia.

"You all… are so thoughtful." Luke was at a loss for words. Moved? Somewhat. The only thing he was certain of was that his life was about to become much livelier.

"Looks like this is a permanent summoning. After all this time, the four of them haven’t disappeared. From what they said, before being summoned here, they seemed lost in the dimensional rifts, always searching for their General. Am I really their General..."

Luke furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

Suddenly, a warm little hand grabbed his cheek—it was Rosanna.

"General, you’re so cute now that you’re smaller!" Without hesitation, Rosanna pinched his cheeks, squeezing and kneading as she marveled.

Anaka was not to be outdone. She joined in, pinching Luke’s little arms and legs, poking everywhere.

She grinned, "The General is way cuter like this than before. You used to always have a stern face, like a horse."

"..." Luke was speechless again.

Though their time together was brief, he had gotten a fair sense of the personalities of these four little ones from the Black Rose.

Anaka was sharp-tongued, always saying things in a somewhat… unconventional way.

Rosanna seemed to enjoy teasing him… which made Luke wonder what kind of relationship the old General had with them.

Anaka and Rosanna often bickered but it seemed to be just playful.

Amytan was the squad leader, calm and wise, offering strategies and advice.

As for Obia, she almost never spoke, only nodding.

"The legendary girl of few words?" Luke wondered curiously.

Yet, no matter who they were, all obediently followed him—the General in their hearts.

Their loyalty was off the charts. That was truly remarkable.

"It seems that, aside from being smaller, Amytan believes their combat skills remain intact. They’re undoubtedly the Black Rose Special Forces, though in chibi form. Hmm... it seems their weapons and equipment were lost on the way here. That’s okay. Grabbing guns and cannons isn’t hard. Of course, by taking them. Once I get the right blueprints, I can also build weapons for them."

Still, the sudden addition of four girls brought a headache to Luke about where to accommodate them.

Where should they live?

He was still in his bedroom, with his foster parents at home downstairs. No way could he let them find out...

As the saying goes: be careful what you fear, it might come true.

After the four girls chattered for a while, Luke’s foster mother, Karen, was finally drawn upstairs.

"There’s something going on!" Anaka suddenly said.

"Someone’s outside!" Rosanna listened carefully. "Light footsteps, small strides, a woman. An ordinary person. Alert lifted."

"Don’t let your guard down," Amytan analyzed coolly. "This world is unfamiliar to us. Until we know the environment, all unknown factors are threats. We must ensure the General’s safety!"

"Yes!" Anaka and Rosanna responded.

Obia nodded.

Luke quickly said, "Relax, don’t worry. It’s someone I know."

"Someone you know?"

"Dear, are you okay? Why is it so noisy in there?" Came a soft voice from outside the door. Luke had locked it. He always locked the door when opening the magic box. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if seen.

Karen spoke gently, "Dear, open the door."

Luke sighed helplessly. He got out of bed and unlocked the door.

His foster mother, Karen, appeared at the doorway, smiling warmly at him. "It sounded noisy in there just now." She glanced inside with a puzzled look.

"It’s nothing. I was watching TV. Maybe the volume was a bit loud. I turned it down already. Sorry, Karen." Luke pointed at the television, which was playing SpongeBob.

Karen looked inside again, then smiled and patted Luke’s head softly. "Alright, don’t stay up too late. Remember to go to bed early."

"Okay, Karen," Luke replied with a smile.

After she left, Luke closed the door again.

Behind the door, Rosanna and Anaka were stacked in a little pile, hiding. Rosanna was on top, Anaka below. Anaka held her nose, saying, "RoRo, you need a bath."

Then, Obia, wearing a beret, opened the wardrobe door and stepped out.

Amytan crawled out from under Luke’s bed. She paused, noticing something on her head. Reaching up, she pulled down a pair of underwear decorated with elephants—it was Luke’s.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned strange...

Then came a chorus of chatter, as lively as a market.

"Wow! The General’s little panties! Amy Amy, you’ve scored!" Anaka exclaimed excitedly.

"Mine, mine!" Rosanna lunged to grab them.

"Bitch, you won’t get away with this!" Anaka pounced too, and together they tackled Amytan onto the bed, groping and tickling her.

"No, no—stop!" Amytan laughed breathlessly. "It’s so ticklish."

Obia’s expression froze as she stared at the three of them.

"Quiet, all of you!" Luke had to shout.

The girls immediately fell silent and looked at him.

Luke held his chin with a troubled hand.

With their good fortune still flowing, wasn’t it time to pull out the remaining rounds of magic boxes? What better moment than now?

What? You’re asking about the underwear? What underwear? Have you seen this 42-meter-long sword?

"Everyone, sit down! Stay quiet." Luke ordered the Black Roses to sit in a row on his bed. Then he resumed opening the magic boxes.

"What’s the General doing?" Rosanna whispered, puzzled by Luke’s actions.

"I know! I know! The General is opening boxes. They contain all kinds of resources! The General used to do this all the time. Although the results were always terrible!" Anaka raised her tender little hand, smiling. "Every time the General got unlucky, he’d say, 'That was an accident,' and 'Next time will be different!'"

"The General is right," Obia said, speaking for once.

Amytan sighed. "That’s why all our money turned into piles of junk. Ever since the General got hooked on opening boxes, our little treasury has barely held three lonely gold coins. I almost forgot when we last had roast meat. Sigh..."

The other three girls echoed, "Sigh..."